Justin Sharman Selvidge Explaining Composting and Its Relevance to Biodiversity
Saturday 24 November was a bit of a warm one but that did not stop the attendance of 47 people at the Community Gardens Composting and Biodiversity Workshop held at Gold Coast Permaculture . Justin Sharman-Selvidge was again the host and teacher for this workshop and it was, as can be expected from Justin, a cracker of a learning experience.We are fortunate to have such an experienced commercial compost maker at our disposal,you can also see the bio intensive garden beds below Justin created this system,and it will be presented at Rio 20.Justin has always donated his time and his money to worthy projects and this great workshop was also done for free,thanks Justin you are inspirational.
There were attendees from pretty well all the community gardens on the Gold Coast as well as teachers and ground-staff from at least two schools with which Gold Coast Permaculture has an association in terms of garden installations and other assistance provided. This workshop was gratis for all attendees and carried out under a Gold Coast City Council bio-diversity grant provided to Gold Coast Permaculture.
Justin Sharman Selvidge has a unique method of gardening using water weeds and microbes.
Biodiversity enrichment and environmental protection is a critical feature of both gardening and farming and not generally an area that is provided with much in the way of thought by many. Using the Gold Coast Permaculture Urban Farm Demonstration Project at 270 Ferry Road as an example, one could probably state that there was very little in the way of bio-diversity actually existing in the dump that was taken over in April 2011. There may well have been a couple of red-bellied black snakes under all the garbage littering the place and in terms of plants I think there was one species. Of invertebrates, perhaps the odd fly.
Okra, Just One Of The Plants At 270 Ferry Rd
To walk into Gold Coast Permaculture’s site at 270 Ferry Rd today is to walk into a menagerie of predator insects, insect pests (duly being controlled by the former), native bees, European honeybees plant species by the 100’s, ducks, chickens and just generally, a plethora of life that was unimaginable 18 months ago. One of our favourite insects is the paper wasp that haunts the back SE corner with a nest that must contain thousands of these beautiful little critters. My personal favourites are the honeybees that I so enjoy looking after. They not only assist in pollinating our crops but also provide honey for our organisation and a meditative period when observing the hives.
A Swarm Making a New Home in a Gold Coast Permaculture Swarm Trap
Encouraging this life is but one aspect. Protecting it, the area around the site and the Gold Coast itself, including the waterways and water table, is an equally important responsibility that we and all other farmers and gardeners have.
Justin Discussing the Compost Heap
Compost is a product that will enable you the gardener to manufacture your own fertiliser and activate your soils with biology. Together they assist in the eliminating the use of chemical fertilisers and making all the nutrients in your gardens/farm available for use. Not only this, by examining the inputs used in the Gold Coast Permaculture compost and gardens, we are diverting a lot of what would normally be waste out of landfill and turning it into useful and productive inputs. This is a win all round
Putting A Heap Together
In my recent blog on the garden installation at Studio Village, I mentioned the amount of phosphorous that is unavailable for use to the plants on our farms. Over-use of this product and industrial farming ‘triumverate’ of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides (especially roundup that is advertised as “safe” in prime time television) not only lifts the acidity and salt levels in your soils but also massacre all that beautiful biology in your soil. That is all those primary, secondary and tertiary decomposers upon which you and your plants depend upon to be strong and healthy are DEAD!
This takes no account of all the other sole based activities of micro-organisms, including the creation of soil structure, disease fighting capability which is totally lost or the symbiotic relationship that is created between these organisms and plants and finally, the taste of the produce that is totally dependent upon the availability of soil borne nutrients through decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms to make it just more than just palatable. Vegies just don’t taste any better than what comes out of a bio-intensive garden.
Making Soluble Phosphorous At Gold Coast Permaculture
Further, all these chemical inputs have a direct impact on the water table and on the health of those who eat the vegetables. Protection of the garden ecosystem and the areas around and below can be greatly assisted by utilising activated compost and natural inputs.
The ‘axis of evil’ will make your plants ‘grow’ but it will destroy the living and thriving ecosystem you have in your soil. And frankly, we really do not want to do that!!
Everyone went home feeling well informed and with the ability to manufacture their own compost heap. They also departed with the knowledge there is more to gardening that the garden itself. The immediate and surrounding areas of your garden are critically important for maintaining life and biodiversity in the environment.
This was the fifth workshop provided on aspects of maintaining and protecting biodiversity in the garden.
